Engineering Opportunity International credentialling helps newcomer engineers get to work
AS A CHILD OF health-care professionals in Nigeria, Eghon Odigie, P.Eng., was already following his family’s path in medicine by the time he was in high school. “The general push—or should I say the general encouragement—was in the medical line,” he smiles. But an influential high school teacher (and his fear of blood) turned him in a new direction. Odigie studied petroleum engineering and started working for Shell as a wells engineer. His early career took him to the Netherlands and to Houston, Texas, where he fell in love with the cowboy way of life. “I just felt this sense of freedom, this sense that I can achieve anything I want to achieve. “We didn’t move for economic reasons—my wife and I were doing extremely well, but like most people, we emigrated because of our kids. Not everyone has the opportunities that I had, but Canada gives everyone that opportunity, and this is something I wanted for my kids.” After arriving in Alberta, Odigie applied for his professional engineer designation and received a decision within four months. His next step was to take exams for APEGA membership.
Then, he was introduced to Directions for Immigrants, which held an event for internationally trained engineers and geoscientists. Odigie attended the event and was inspired by what he heard. “What piqued my interest was one of the speakers, Enayat Aminzadah, APEGA’s international qualifications officer, who spoke about the registration and licensure process. And I liked the fact that he injected real-life experiences and helped me understand that every application is evaluated on its individual merits and that the registration and licensure process is fair for internationally educated engineers and geoscientists.” Today, Odigie is among the many Albertans who have brought their valuable experience and skills to our province, contributing significantly to our thriving culture and economic growth. He dedicates his spare time to volunteering in his community and place of worship, and mentoring the next generation of professionals. “I didn’t know I had a knack for it. But I just walk up to someone who’s fresh out of university and coach them because I had lots of that while I was going through my career as well.”
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker